(7) Iris
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	7 Oct 2026	11.2	2.877 AU	3.862 AU	13h12m	-11°22'	8.4°	2.9°
Opposition	25 May 2027	9.5	2.889 AU	1.876 AU	16h05m	-23°11'	177.7°	0.8°

The interactive orbit chart above shows the body's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below. (Left-click and drag to rotate the view; Right-click and drag to move the view; Use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)

The orbital elements of Iris are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2302746
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.3857463
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.51857
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 259.48510
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 145.40717
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 115.29166
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 225.01657
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 3.12983
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.68            
        

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the minor planet's magnitude.

The all-sky chart below shows the path of the minor planet over the same period as the light curve. The current position is marked yellow.

The following chart shows the path of the minor planet in the next few days. The field of view is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-10-07 00:00 UT   13 12 42.7   -11 22 26     3.862    2.877    8.4    2.9   136   11.2 
2026-10-07 06:30 UT   13 13 06.7   -11 24 41     3.862    2.877    8.3    2.9   136   11.2 
2026-10-08 00:00 UT   13 14 11.3   -11 30 45     3.864    2.878    7.9    2.7   138   11.2 
2026-10-09 00:00 UT   13 15 40.0   -11 39 04     3.867    2.878    7.3    2.5   140   11.2 
2026-10-10 00:00 UT   13 17 08.7   -11 47 22     3.869    2.879    6.8    2.4   142   11.2 
2026-10-11 00:00 UT   13 18 37.5   -11 55 40     3.871    2.880    6.3    2.2   144   11.2 
2026-10-12 00:00 UT   13 20 06.3   -12 03 56     3.873    2.881    5.8    2.0   147   11.2 
2026-10-13 00:00 UT   13 21 35.2   -12 12 12     3.874    2.882    5.3    1.8   151   11.2 
2026-10-14 00:00 UT   13 23 04.2   -12 20 26     3.876    2.883    4.8    1.7   156   11.2 
2026-10-15 00:00 UT   13 24 33.3   -12 28 40     3.877    2.884    4.4    1.5   161   11.2 
2026-10-16 00:00 UT   13 26 02.4   -12 36 52     3.879    2.885    4.0    1.4   167   11.1 
2026-10-17 00:00 UT   13 27 31.5   -12 45 03     3.880    2.886    3.7    1.3   175   11.1 
2026-10-18 00:00 UT   13 29 00.7   -12 53 13     3.881    2.887    3.5    1.2   183   11.1 
2026-10-19 00:00 UT   13 30 30.0   -13 01 22     3.881    2.888    3.3    1.2   193   11.1 
2026-10-20 00:00 UT   13 31 59.3   -13 09 30     3.882    2.888    3.3    1.1   204   11.1 
2026-10-21 00:00 UT   13 33 28.6   -13 17 36     3.883    2.889    3.4    1.2   214   11.1 
2026-10-22 00:00 UT   13 34 58.0   -13 25 41     3.883    2.890    3.5    1.2   224   11.1 
2026-10-23 00:00 UT   13 36 27.4   -13 33 44     3.883    2.891    3.8    1.3   232   11.1 
2026-10-24 00:00 UT   13 37 56.9   -13 41 47     3.883    2.892    4.1    1.4   239   11.2 
2026-10-25 00:00 UT   13 39 26.4   -13 49 47     3.883    2.893    4.5    1.6   245   11.2 
2026-10-26 00:00 UT   13 40 55.9   -13 57 47     3.883    2.893    5.0    1.7   250   11.2 
2026-10-27 00:00 UT   13 42 25.5   -14 05 44     3.882    2.894    5.5    1.9   255   11.2 
2026-10-28 00:00 UT   13 43 55.1   -14 13 41     3.881    2.895    6.0    2.0   258   11.2 

    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between minor planet and earth in AU
    radius: distance between minor planet and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-minor planet)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-minor planet-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit (mean distance between earth and sun: 149597870.7 km
    

Orbital elements provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.